Discover Australia's Great Barrier Reef  with Barrier-Reef.org

The Great Barrier Reef Australia is one of the most popular travel destinations in the world, it is located off the north Queensland coast of eastern Australia and is the largest living coral reef system on the planet, covering aproximately 350,000 square kilometres, it is made up of a around 2600 seperate coral reefs, forming a natural breakwater for the coast of Queensland. The Great Barrier Reef, which can actually be seen from space, is one of the great seven wonders of the natural world, and the Great Barrier Reef with its 940 islands and cays attract over two million people to the area each year to generate more than 2 billion dollars for the tourism industry from great barrier reef business involved with the reef that include Resort Accommodation, spectacular Barrier Reef Cruises and amazing Barrier Reef Diving adventures.

The Barrier Reef Australia is virtually scattered with magnificent tropical islands ranging in size from about 1 hectare to over 10,000 hectares and include numerious uninhabited islands with palm fringed white sandy beaches surounded by the crystal clear waters of tropical lagoons as well as some luxury resort islands like the spectacular Whitsunday Islands  top class resort island of Hamilton island, then there's my personal favourite, beautiful Hayman Island which can only be described as a true tropical paradise. Some of the other popular Barrier Reef Islands with outstanding resort style Island accommodation are stunning Lizard Island, idyllic Lady Elliot Island, lots of fun Dunk Island, real wilderness Hinchinbrook Island, amazing Green Island, easy access Magnetic Island and simply splendid Orpheus Island.

The Great Barrier Reef is over 2000 km long, starting south of the Tropic of Capricorn, just north of Bundaberg, near the Southern Reef Island of lady elliot island, and stretching along the Queensland coastline, following the edge of the continental shelf varying between 260 km to 32 km in distance off the coast and running right up to Far North Queenslands Cape York Peninsular and towards the Torres Strait Islands. At its southern most point, the Great Barrier Reef is about 200 klm or so from the mainland coast of Queensland, but as you travel further north this distance decreases significantly and the reef becomes much more accessable for visitors who can book an amaizing holiday experience with any of the resorts or one of the many tour and dive opperators that wont just show you the reef but provide an ultimate island getaway that is a complete interactive experience, with reef walks and snorkeling or scuba diving the depths of the Great Barrier Reef.

Known as the "barrier reef" The Great Barrier Reef Australia is an outer reef that forms the protective barrier to the coastline of north eastern Australia, and is different to fringe reefs, which can be found along the coastline of the mainland and islands. The great reef barrier creates a huge lagoon area of calm protected waters of less than 60 metres in depth, and contains many inner reefs and islands to explore.The Great Barrier Reef is a very complex eco system that is home to an incredible amount of species of animals and plants, with new ones still being discovered every year. The reef has over 350 types of hard coral and is abundant with all sorts of wildlife, including sharks, dugong and green turtles, many varieties of dolphins and whales, more than 1500 species of fish, 4000 types of mollusc plus more than 200 species of native birds, making it a nature photographers paradise.

Exploring some of the larger Barrier Reef islands, small pockets of lush tropical rainforest that frame long white sandy beaches and surrounding offshore fringing reefs can be found in abundance, so if you feel as though you need a bit of a break from the glorious Queensland sunshine, you could just sit under the shade of a majestic palm tree and relax with a dreamy view of the glistening waters and distant islands on the horizon, or if you are feeling a bit more adventurous, many island beaches have coral fringing reefs hidden just a few meters offshore making it perfect for snorkelling amongst the vibrant corals and large schools of colourful reef fish.

The Great Barrier Reef was added to the National Heritage List in 2007 and was then declared a World Heritage area in 1981. To help protect and conserve the species and the Reef, most of the barrier Reef has now become part of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and has various parts of its delicate eco system protected in certain ways with fishing restricted in some areas and marine animals such as whales, dolphins, green turtles and dugong being totally protected to ensure there ongoing existance on the reef.The Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park have slightly different boundaries, the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area covers aproximately 348,000 sq.km and is about 2600 square kilometers larger because it takes in a few small parts of Queenslands coastal inlets and coves as well, whereas the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park covers just the 348,000 sq.km or so area that is the sea.The actual boundaries of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area extend from the low water mark on the mainland coast of Queensland right out to the Continental Shelf of the South Pacific Ocean, from just to the north of Fraser Island at the southern end all the way up to the tip of Cape York peninsular, which is the most northern point of Australia, but the Barrier Reef itself continues for a few hundred kilometers further northwards towards Papua New Guinea.

There is a very good variety of quality acccommodation on the mainland as well as on and around the great barrier reef itself to cater for any taste, starting from basic campsites to cheap backpackers and budget family acccommodation to remote secluded lodges and ranging through to private luxury villas and world class 5 star elegantly sophisticated island resorts.When staying at the Barrier Reef you can find activities to suit all budgets, besides wining and dining, shopping and lazing by the pool, there is plenty to do with Beach sports, Diving and snorkelling, Sea kayaking, Jet ski tours and Fishing to name just a few, but If you really want to experience the Reef, try taking a cruise on a glass bottomed boat to get a good look at the reef and its amazing sea creatures and a spectacular helicopter joy flight or scenic sea plane flight high above the reef to take in the incredable beauty and shear expanse of the Great Barrier Reef and its miriad of tropical islands and white sandy cays.

Some of the popular Whitsunday Island resorts like Hamilton Island and many of the outer reef island resorts such as Lizard island and Lady Elliot island have there own airstrips, but a boat or helicopter is the only way in or out of most of the smaller islands of the Great Barrier Reef.